Animal Blood Sports

Dogfighting

Like gamecocks, pit bull terriers are bred, trained and conditioned to fight to the death. These fights take place in a plywood pit and can last about an hour, during which a crowd of about 100 people looks on. The contest is finished when a dog is no longer willing or able to continue.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, dogs often die because of blood loss, shock, dehydration or infection within days — or even hours — of a fight. Staging dogfights is a felony offense in all 50 states. The people who run fighting rings go to great lengths to avoid prosecution and constantly move their arena to new locations in an effort to stay a step ahead of the cops.

Spectators, through admission fees and wagering, provide much of the profit for this barbaric blood sport. In fact, betting profits range from $10,000 to $100,000. The possibility of being caught is not a big deterrent for people who run dog fights; they consider fines as little more than a minor business expense.

Cricket fighting

To the average person, a cricket is useless — an annoying pest whose noise hinders a good night's sleep. In China, people have a completely different take on the insect.

Fighter crickets are valuable, and people are willing to wager on this silly-sounding animal blood sport, which started during ancient China's Tang Dynasty. Crickets are starved before matches and, once they’re in the ring, they are tickled with a feather on the top of their heads. The goal is to irritate the crickets enough to provoke them to kick and bite each other to death while crazed thrill-seekers wanting to make a quick buck look on.

Despite the centuries-long existence of this so-called blood sport, it's not exactly a thing of the past in the Far East. In Beijing, the Association for Cricket Fighting still organizes events. Cricket fights are illegal in Hong Kong and Macao, but still take place in an underground network — homes, streets and even dance halls have become venues. In addition, Chinese authorities strictly forbid gambling.

In 2004, police in Hong Kong broke up a fighting ring and seized about 200 crickets, some worth as much as $20,000. That same year, authorities in Shanghai raided a fighting den and detained 46 suspects, seized 39 pots of crickets and claimed $6,500 in wagered cash. Two men charged with organizing the fights faced potential three-year prison terms.